Another Sunday, another story saying San Diego is going to lose the Chargers.

Oh, and another Chargers loss.

Good thing we get to focus on football until Dean Spanos makes up his mind about what to do regarding his quest for a new stadium.

Specifically, another Chargers home game was preceded by another csbssports.com report declaring the Chargers “have little recourse but to join the Rams in Los Angeles” after the defeat of their downtown stadium-convention center initiative.

Make it stop. Dean, you can make it stop.

The NFL does not want the Chargers in Los Angeles. Rams owner Stan Kroenke does not want the Chargers in Los Angeles. Spanos doesn’t want the Chargers in Los Angeles.

We all suspect these things to be the truth. And we’re all willing to pretend that is not the case for a while longer, as long as those involved stop throwing it in our face.

Whether or not the Chargers’ “option” to move to Inglewood is worth more than the paper it’s printed on, there is no good business reason for the Chargers to do anything but keep that “option” open.

But to keep regenerating the L.A. nonsense and try to hold it over San Diego is entirely unacceptable, not to mention ineffective.

It is especially insulting to San Diego considering there has not been one word from Spanos or anyone else from the Chargers about the team’s desire to stay in San Diego and continue to work toward a solution in their home of 56 years.

They’re practically stuck here, and they’re playing hard to get. It would be laughable if it weren’t so infuriating.

Now, Chargers stadium point man Fred Maas meeting with Mayor Kevin Faulconer on Tuesday for the first time since the vote is a good step. A necessary step toward finding a solution here.

We’re probably headed for a November 2018 vote on whatever the parties come up with. We have time.

But in the meantime, the L.A. smog hanging over us must dissipate. At least, the other step the Chargers must take is to stop beating us over the head with L.A.

The CBS story cites “ownership sources” and other sources from around the NFL, but anyone who has covered this saga can see signs that the narrative got its genesis in San Diego. Just like the two missives from the same author that dropped on previous Sundays this season.

Are the Chargers/NFL really trying to scare us?

Yes. And it's asinine.

The only thing the Measure C result showed is that San Diego won’t be scared.

The assertion by NFL sources cited in the CBS report saying the Chargers were discouraged by the mere 43 percent that voted “Yes” on Measure C is only partially true, according to what people inside Chargers Park have been saying for the past week. In fact, the result is almost exactly what the models done by both sides indicated before the vote. There was a lower voter turnout than hoped, which diminished the propensity for “Yes” votes, but this result was barely askew from what realists on the side of Measure C anticipated.

That isn’t saying Spanos wasn’t disappointed. It’s just that this was not a surprise to anyone who was informed.

The defeat of C in no way reflected on the chances of a different proposal getting a simple majority. Everyone I talked to on both sides – including Chargers sources – believes a measure not involving a tax hike would have a high chance of passing. That approval would be contingent on the mayor getting a majority of the city council on board. Labor and many business leaders were pro-C and would be expected to support an alternative as well.

Now, ownership sources in the CBS story are not to be doubted. Based on two years of chasing this story around the country, I can tell you first-hand about hustling to get the opinion and inside scuttlebutt from, presumably, many of the same people saying many of the same things now. Don’t belittle a story on this topic because it cites unnamed sources. The NFL operates in the shadows in these matters.

But the lesson of 2015 is that we have to be careful in implicitly trusting what anyone anywhere knows. That is not an assertion that NFL folks are liars. It is simply a warning that few people can responsibly predict the future on this matter.

Understand, I am the guy many accused of carrying Spanos' water for years.

I’ve found fault in Faulconer, been mad at Tony Manolatos and cynical about the city council. But it can’t surprise anyone that a guy who writes a sports column and hosts a sports talk show wants the Chargers to stay. (That’s just being forthright. I can also argue the merits of having an NFL franchise as one of our city’s faces.)

In fact, the Chargers taking the proactive approach of saying they want to stay and are open to compromise (or however lawyers and politicians want to couch it) would actually put the pressure on some of the dawdling obstructionists in our local government. Many of those folks who opposed C have been saying for months (and reiterated after the vote) they are ready to talk. At this point, I invite anyone from Mayor Faulconer to Councilman Chris Cate to County Supervisor Ron Roberts to Padres owner Ron Fowler to speak up if they have ideas. Put the pressure on the Chargers if they won’t put it on you.

I believe Spanos prefers to stay in San Diego. I believe he will give it another go here.

I believe the NFL wants him to. I believe Rams owner Stan Kroenke wants him to. I believe the overwhelming majority of Angelenos either want him to or don’t care what he does. I believe all those things because I’ve been told it by many people for a long time, and increasingly so.

If I didn’t believe that, I’d tell Spanos to jump in the Pacific Ocean. Or into a moving van.

Around the NFL — from New York to L.A. — it seems no one knows what the Chargers' next move is. This, they say, is up to them.

Do we believe every word from those close to the situation? I wouldn't believe every word from my sainted mother if she was a principle player in this saga. But, yes, how they proceed between now and their next move, in particular, is up to the Chargers.

They need to make the ominous overtones stop.

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Uncharacteristic poor play from Chargers quarteback, Philip Rivers, helps the Dolphins to a win over the Bolts. Sportswriters Kevin Acee and Michael Gehlken discuss the loss and the team's outlook for the remainder of the season after the bye.

Uncharacteristic poor play from Chargers quarteback, Philip Rivers, helps the Dolphins to a win over the Bolts. Sportswriters Kevin Acee and Michael Gehlken discuss the loss and the team's outlook for the remainder of the season after the bye.

Two ballot measures that could have brought a combined convention center annex and Chargers stadium to downtown San Diego has not received enough votes to pass which could prompt a Chargers relocation.

Two ballot measures that could have brought a combined convention center annex and Chargers stadium to downtown San Diego has not received enough votes to pass which could prompt a Chargers relocation.